Battle of Wolf 359
The Battle of Wolf 359 took place in 2367 in the Wolf 359 system, roughly eight light years from Earth, between the forces of the United Federation of Planets and the Borg Collective. It is recorded as one of the most destructive battles in Federation history prior to the Dominion War. Prelude to Wolf 359 In 2366, on stardate 43989.1, the USS Enterprise-D arrived at Jouret IV after contact with the New Providence colony was lost twelve hours earlier. The colony was found to have been completely destroyed, literally scooped from the planet's surface. Admiral J.P. Hanson and Lieutenant Commander Shelby of Starfleet Tactical arrived to investigate the disappearance. An away team determined that the colony was wiped away by weapons similar to those found on the Borg cube encountered by the Enterprise in System J-25. Starfleet immediately began preparations for a possible Borg invasion. Admiral Hanson returned to Starbase 324 to discuss strategy with Starfleet Command. Starfleet imposed a fleet-wide standing yellow alert, and warned all Federation and allied outposts. That evening at 1900 hours, the USS Lalo departed Zeta Alpha II on a freight run to Sentinel Minor IV. At 2212 hours, Starbase 157 received a signal from the Lalo reporting contact with a cubical object. The signal was cut off mid-transmission, and no response was received to further hails. Upon receiving this information from Admiral Hanson, the USS Enterprise set a course for the Lalo's last known location. With Starfleet reinforcements at least six days away, the Enterprise was on her own. En route to the coordinates, contact was made with the unknown vessel: a Borg cube. News was relayed to Admiral Hanson, who had begun to assemble a fleet to combat the invasion. The Borg demanded that the Enterprise captain, Jean-Luc Picard, beam himself aboard their vessel for an unspecified purpose. After a brief exchange of fire, the Enterprise retreated into the Paulson Nebula, with the Borg vessel close behind. Hiding in the dust cloud, the Enterprise and her crew prepared for the inevitable conflict. Attempting to force the starship out, the Borg launched magnetometric-guided charges into the nebula, causing minor damage to the Enterprise. Picard ordered the ship out of hiding, and in the ensuing attack, Picard was captured by the Borg, who then left at high warp, en route to Sector 001 and the core of the Federation. The cube maintained its course, with the Enterprise in hot pursuit. William T. Riker, as acting Captain, planned to force the cube out of warp in order to attack it using the Enterprise's deflector dish. An away team led by Lt. Cmdr. Shelby was sent over to the vessel, and succeeded in taking the Borg cube out of warp. In the process, it was discovered that Captain Picard had been assimilated by the Borg – he had been transformed into a Borg drone with the designation Locutus of Borg. Having temporarily disabled the cube, the Enterprise launched its deflector weapon. The cube easily shrugged off the Enterprise's assault with the unwilling aid of Picard's knowledge, and resumed its course to the Sol system. The Enterprise was forced to stay behind, having suffered extensive damage to its deflector array and warp core. In the meantime, Admiral Hanson and Starfleet Command had hastily assembled a fleet of forty starships, with more on the way. The Klingon Empire was in the process of dispatching warships of its own to assist in the defense, and the possibility of requesting Romulan support was even considered. The Battle In 2367, around stardate 44002.3, the cube entered the Wolf 359 system. Locutus hailed the assembled fleet, ordering them to disarm and escort the cube to the Sol system. Immediately thereafter, the fleet engaged the Borg. The Excelsior Class USS Melbourne was among the first ships destroyed, with its saucer section partially vaporized while approaching. The Miranda Class USS Saratoga was quickly neutralized thereafter. When the Ambassador Class USS Yamaguchi and the Nebula Class USS Bellerophon rushed to rescue their trapped sister ships, they, too, were destroyed, along with numerous other starships entering the combat zone. After bare minutes of combat, the fleet was faced with utter defeat. Admiral Hanson attempted to rally the remaining ships to launch a last-ditch assault, but his ship was destroyed shortly thereafter. His final words were to Captain Riker of the Enterprise, whom he contacted briefly during the course of the battle. Communications were cut off in the midst of this transmission, and no further transmissions were received. Ultimately, 39 starships were lost with a total loss of nearly 11,000 lives. Many people were assimilated. Only one starship managed to escape the disaster. (TNG: At least one civilian transport craft was caught in the battle. The ship was heavily damaged and had to evacuate its crew and passengers via their escape pods. The mother of one Starfleet officer was onboard. The rest of the craft's passengers were most likely assimilated, though it is unknown if Locutus's ship had done this, or if they were assimilated at a later date. Aftermath Following the battle, the cube resumed course towards Earth, completely undamaged. The Enterprise, having finally completed repairs, raced to catch up to the Borg. In preparation for a Borg invasion of Earth, martial law was declared on the planet. Using the recaptured Locutus and his link to the collective mind of the Borg, the Enterprise crew however managed to plant subversive commands to deactivate and destroy the Borg ship in Earth orbit. Although the outcome of the invasion could have been much worse, the result of the battle was nothing short of disaster. The loss of such a large number of starships left the Federation unprepared for any new sustained conflict. Commander Shelby took command of a special task force to rebuild Starfleet, but it would take up to a year before the fleet returned to previous deployment levels. Category:Notable Battles Category:United Federation of Planets Category:Borg Collective